A Sign of Courage
by Jesika Starwatcher
Summary: Fox and Jesika have constantly argued since the time when they were kits but still maintained their friendship. When Jesika goes to spy on Venom and something goes terribly wrong, however, Fox is forced to make some tough decisions...
1. Default Chapter

Once again, I'm back. This time I have some actual action for you, okay. Things start to get pretty extreme starting here.  
  
Disclaimer (I'm really sick of this): Starfox, Starwolf, and all related characters, places, and things are copyrighted to Nintendo. Don't sue me 'cause I'm not making any money off this. All of the characters that don't belong to Nintendo belong to me. Don't use them without asking, and . . . you get the drift.  
  
Okay, here we go…  
  
A Sign of Courage: Part 1  
  
"I'm sorry 'bout the attitude   
I need to give when I'm with you   
but no one else would take   
this sh** from me"  
--Matchbox 20 "Long Day"  
  
  
"You're going to what?" Fox nearly screamed.  
  
"I can take care of myself," Jesika growled, looking over her shoulder at Fox and Peppy. "If you didn't want me to take the job, then why did you hire me?"  
  
"I don't want you to go to Venom alone, Jesika," Peppy said softly, trying to calm her down. "It's too dangerous."  
  
"Dad, I've been going on missions like this for Pepper for almost a year now. I haven't gotten caught yet," She tied a bandanna around her head, brushed a wisp of her black-tipped hair out of her eyes, and walked out of the room. Fox chased after her.  
  
"Fine!" he said. "But you aren't getting paid to get yourself killed." She stopped and turned around,  
  
"Alright Junior. This mission's on the house!" With that she turned back around and stomped into the docking bay. Fox grabbed her arm and spun her around.  
  
"If you get into trouble, Starwatcher, don't even think of asking us for help. I have more important…" He stopped short and instantly regretted his words when he noticed her darkening countenance.   
  
Without saying another word, Jesika climbed into her ship and sped out of the docking bay. Fox looked back at the door to see Peppy. By the look on his face, it was apparent he hadn't heard anything. It didn't make the young leader feel much better. Fox leaned back in his chair and groaned.  
  
  
  
* * * * * * * * * * *  
  
  
  
On Venom, Andross glowered at the two unfortunate subordinates cowering in front of his desk. He tossed their reports back onto it.  
  
"Tell me, private," he said coolly, locking eyes with the young lizard, "if your reports are true and the spy seems to be both inexperienced and working alone, then how come you haven't even gotten close to catching her?" The lizard cringed as his emperor stood up. The ape clamped a hand on his shoulder roughly.   
  
"Get out of my sight!" Andross growled, tightening his grip. "I'll decide your punishment later."  
  
With that he lifted the lizard up with one hand and threw him out into the hall. His friend ran out to help just as Andross closed the door behind them.  
  
'I'm surrounded by idiots!' he simpered. 'There is absolutely no way that I can catch that little rogue with these morons. And Starwolf is too valuable to use for catching a common spy.'  
  
Just then, he noticed the radio device on the wall. He walked up to it and dialed a frequency on Zoness.  
  
"Perhaps it's time to get some outside assistance."  
  
  
  
* * * * * * * * * *   
  
  
  
Meanwhile in her ship, Jesika was simmering. 'Those morons treat me like a little kid!' she thought angrliy.   
  
It was still a little over an hour until the ship would enter Venom airspace. Her ship was among the fastest in all of Lylat, though it did compromise it's shields quite a bit.  
  
She tapped her fingers lightly against the control panel and tried to hum a tune. After shifting around in her seat uncomfortably, she turned a couple of knobs on the control panel. After a while, some odd-sounding music filtered through her speakers from a planet she could only guess.   
  
"Maybe I should go a bit easier on them," she thought sullenly. "They put a lot of work into this old thing..." Jesika angrily turned the radio off and leaned back in her seat. 'I can still take care of myself, though...'  
  
After a few minutes of thinking, she opened up a link with the Great Fox. No answer. She frowned and pressed a few buttons so she could leave a message.  
  
"Hey fellas," she said. "I'm going to go back to Fortuna when I get done at Venom if I don't find anything. It'll probably be pretty late." She paused a second.  
  
"Love you, Dad. See you soon, Junior."  
  
She shut the signal off and leaned back again until a beeping noise came from one of the ships sensors. The flashing "Warning: Venom Airspace" sign came on. She switched the auto-pilot off and started to manuever her ship out of sight of the radar.  
  
"Time to kick some Venomian butt," she thought with a smirk on her face.  
  
  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
  
  
"Where's that magazine, Wart-Face?"  
  
"None of your business, Bird-Brain!"  
  
Peppy listened to his two teammates argue half-heartedly. Right after Jesika had stormed out, General Pepper had called. He had asked that they re-take the Fortuna base and free any Cornerians that were being held there. It had to be done, so Fox took the mission.   
  
Besides, they desperately needed the money...  
  
"Would you two cut it out!" Fox growled over his com to the arguing teammates. They shut up immediately.   
  
"Well, sorry!" Falco answered back.  
  
Peppy looked over at Fox, concern etching his face. The boy had looked exceedingly troubled the last couple of weeks. He had been snapping at his teammates quite a bit. The fight with Jesika seemed to have been the climax of it.  
  
'Poor Fox,' the hare thought. 'This job may be too much for him. He's still barely more than a kit...'  
  
"Hey, the base is just ahead, guys," Slippy broke through his thoughts.   
  
Sure enough, it was less than a mile ahead. Peppy shivered a bit, but not from the cold. It just occured to him that he was approaching the same rebuilt base where his friend, Justin, had been killed. The same place he had found Justin's the half-frozen little daughter...  
  
"Okay everyone. Let's split up and take it to'em," Fox ordered over his intercom.  
  
  
  
* * * * * * * * * * *  
  
  
  
Jesika slipped out of her ship silently. She had landed about a mile from the main base on Venom, her ship hidden in the cover of a jagged boulder. She started climbing nervously down the cliff to the base below.  
  
  
  
* * * * * * * * * * *   
  
  
  
Fox rolled left and right, trying to take down as many enemy fighters as possible as they poured out of the base. The bogey's were easy to shoot down, but there were tons of them.  
  
'Okay, you've had harder stuff than this at the Academy, Fox,' he coached himself. 'You can do this.' He focused his attention on one ship and tried to lock on...  
  
"I could use some help here, Fox," he heard Falco yell over the intercom. "I have three bogeys on my tail and I can't shake them."  
  
"Peppy, can you take care of it? I've kinda got my hands full," the young leader asked over the com.   
  
"Sorry, Fox. I'm trying to help Slippy," Peppy answered. Fox looked over towards Slippy's ship. Sure enough, there was 5 bogeys after him.  
  
The vulpine sighed and left his target. "Hold on Falco!"  
  
  
  
* * * * * * * * * *   
  
  
Jesika crept up slowly towards the base. It was quite large, much bigger than Corneria's Academy. There was the main building where all of the computer's and briefing rooms were. There was also a many smaller buildings which were used as housing, hangers, and stores of various kinds. She finally saw the one she wanted.  
  
Jinx's Bar, Pool, & Darts.  
  
After all, drunk people give a lot of good information freely.  
  
Just like clockwork, two Venomians-a lizard and a wolf-stumbled out of the bar.  
  
"Man, I can't believe Andross did that to you, man!" the wolf said. "You shoulda seen the way you flew across that hall. It was just, like, whoosh!"  
  
The lizard, who was a little less drunk, replied, "Yeah, well, it's your fault you know. You should've stopped him or somethin'."  
  
"Yeah right," the wolf growled back.  
  
Jesika smirked at the two creatures and started sneaking up behind them. When she was close enough she pulled out her gun.  
  
"Hey fellas," she whispered. Recognizing the voice of the spy they were supposed to catch, they started to spin around. She gave them both a quick crack on the neck, knocking them senseless.  
  
'Too easy,' she thought.  
  
She dragged them both behind a cliff face hurredly to keep anyone from seeing. She took the wolf's uniform, put it on, and stashed her clothes in a small hole in the rock face.  
  
  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
  
  
Fox deftly flipped behind the bogeys that were tailing him and shot them down. This was much too easy. Even Slippy was staying out of trouble for the most part.   
  
Fox frowned as he heard his com beep just another small group of ships shot out of the base. He pressed the button on the com's side to answer.  
  
"A bomb has been planted at the base," ROB-64, the Great Fox's technician robot droned. "Detonation in ten minutes."  
  
"Damn!" Fox growled. He sent a signal to his teammates, "Can anyone take care of it?"  
  
  
  
* * * * * * * * * * *  
  
  
  
Jesika walked cautiosly into the bar. It was filled with Venomian soldiers-almost all of them males. There were pool tables and darts up on the walls. The whole room smelled of cigarrete smoke and loud rock music blared in the background.   
  
She made her way quickly to the bar. Men hooted and whistled as she walked past. She snarled back at them lowly, but that seemed to only egg them on.   
  
She sat down at a seat at the bar. One of her harrasers, a black wolf, sat down beside her and put his arm around her shoulders.   
  
"What's a nice looking girl like you doing in a place like this?" he asked in a sickeningly sweet voice.  
  
"I'm not allowed in any of the other bars in Lylat," she replied in an equally sweet voice. He pulled her closer.  
  
"Oh really. Why is that?"  
  
"It was because of something I did to a certain male cat."  
  
"What was that?" he asked.  
  
"He wouldn't leave me alone, so I made sure he wouldn't be making any more little kittens. It taught him his lesson," she snarled back, taking his arm off her shoulder and pushing it away. He snorted.  
  
The bartender approached Jesika and shoved the wolf back away from the bar. "You really need to how ya act around the girls, Chance!" she growled in a deep, but obviously female, voice. "Or you ain't never gonna get a date. Lord knows ya can't rely on yoah looks."  
  
Chance stood up and growled viciously at the bartender before several angry males surrounded him and ushered him out of the building. It was obvious that they cared a great deal for their server. Either that, or they didn't want their beer supply to be cut off...  
  
Jesika looked up at her savior to thank her. She was a wolf, quite large for an older female and obviously quite strong too. Her long, black hair was in a braid and she has large loop earings in each year. She was wearing a tank top and a pair of jean shorts. She smiled at Jesika warmly.  
  
"Don't you be payin' him any mind, hon. He acts like that whenever he sees a girl. It's like he never grew out of puberty, or whatever you call it."   
  
Jesika nodded greatfully. "Thanks for helping me out."  
  
"Don't think nothin' of it, Sug. Anything old Jasmine can do for ya's, let me know," the wolf said, gesturing towards herself. "Old Chance did have a point, though. What is a kid like you doing in a place like this?"   
  
"Ahhh, I got back from a hard day on the job."  
  
Jasmine raised a furry eyebrow, "Really? And what kinda job would they give to a pup like you?"  
  
"I am not a pup! I'm a respected spy for the Cor-umm-Venomian Military," she said, biting her tongue and cursing herself for almost blowing her cover.  
  
This was going to be a long mission...  
  
  
  
* * * * * * * * * * *  
  
  
  
"Can't let you do that, Starfox," a voice filtered through the com-unit. Fox blinked several times in shock. He had heard that voice before.  
  
Could it be? Yes, it had to be Wolf O'Donnell. The wolf that led the team known as Star Wolf, Andross's answer to Starfox. The wolf seemed to have a grudge against the young leader. Fox wasn't sure why. After all, the loss of Wolf's eye was an accident...  
  
"Andross has ordered us to take you down," a lizard continued. Fox recognized him as well. It was the lizard that had attacked Falco several months back. Leon.  
  
"That reward is as good as mine!" Another voice blurted out. This one the vulpine knew all to well. He narrowed his eyes as he felt his face turn red with hatred.  
  
Pigma Dengar.  
  
He didn't even here the last transmission. He was too focused on taking the traitor out. Too focused on revenge.  
  
"Let's take care of these guys first!" He ordered with a growl.  
  
  
  
* * * * * * * * * * *  
  
  
  
"So, are you capable of this?" Andross asked the figure in front of him.  
  
"Depends on how much you are willing to pay me," the creature replied.  
  
"Whatever you require to get it done. Credits, power, whatever you desire."  
  
A wicked smile spread across the face of the creature, "Go on, I'm listening..."  
  
  
  
* * * * * * * * * * *  
  
  
  
Jesika downed another soda as she sat at the bar. (The bartender wouldn't let her have a beer. Not that she wanted one.) She had certainly gotten some information from some of the men trying to talk her into a date, but nothing that she would repeat in front of her parents, much less something that had some use.   
  
She glanced up as the door opened and slammed suddenly. A large, muscular wolf with an eyepatch stormed in. Jesika raised an eyebrow. Wasn't he that wolf that was leading that team, Star Wolf?   
  
Another furry came in. This one was a chameleon. He followed the angry wolf closely. The vixen recognized him as Leon Polowski, another member of Star Wolf.  
  
'Dang,' she thought. 'The whole team must be here. Wolf, Leon, Andrew, and...oh crap.'  
  
As if on cue, the remaining two team members, Andrew and Pigma, walked into the bar. Jesika felt a chill run down her spine as she turned away from them, hiding her face with her jacket, praying Pigma wouldn't look at her.  
  
Of all the creatures in Venom's army, she both hated and feared Pigma the most. He was the only one that knew who she was.  
  
Besides, if he could betray his friends so easily, how much easier would it be to betray someone who had a mutual dislike for him?  
  
Jasmine, who was washing some beer mugs at the time, looked at her worriedly, noting the girl's obvious uneasiness.  
  
"Somethin' wrong, hon?"  
  
Jesika shook her head, pulling the jacket collar tighter around her, "Nah. I'm just a bit chilly, that's all."  
  
The team sat down at a table across the room, the leader cursing and complaining at them the whole time.   
  
Not much could be made out from such a distance. The only definate thing that she could make out was 'Damn Starfox!'. She smiled.   
  
Poor Wolf...  
  
  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
  
  
Fox McCloud climbed out of his Arwing, thoroughly exhausted. Yes, they did beat the Star Wolf team. However, the battle had crippled Peppy and Slippy's ships and it would take time to repair them. Time they just didn't have...  
  
They had to keep moving towards Venom. If they didn't, then they would lose there momentum and have to start over again. It was so exhausting, having to fight several times a week, though. Way too much for such a young leader.  
  
'Dad, how did you do it?' the vulpine asked silently. 'How did you keep this team going without losing your mind?'  
  
He didn't get an answer. He didn't expect one.  
  
"Sir?" Rob64 droned from the doorway.  
  
"Yes, what is it ROB?"  
  
"You have a message from young Starwatcher. It is a recording."  
  
Fox sighed. He was still a bit mad at the young vixen for disobeying him, and a bit mad at himself for snapping at her like that. He could only imagine what she wanted.  
  
He nodded, motioning for ROB to patch it through.  
  
  
"Hey fellas," her voice said through the com. "I'm going to go back to Fortuna when I get done at Venom if I don't find anything. It'll probably be pretty late." It paused for a second. "Love you, Dad. See you soon, Junior."  
  
'If only I was that relaxed,' he thought sullenly.  
  
  
  
* * * * * * * * * *   
  
  
  
The creature looked around the side of the boxes in the huge warehouse. He knew the spy would be here soon. It was the only way out of the base. Now all he had to do was wait.  
  
After all, how hard could capturing a rookie be?  
  
  
  
* * * * * * * * *  
  
  
  
Jesika crawled on her belly through the ventilation ducts. She had learned, over time, that you can't get into the main computer room unless you were a general or above. So she had to do it the hard way.  
  
The air was getting thick and hot, so Jesika was quite greatful when she finally came across a grate. She pressed her muzzle up against it, breathing in the cooler air thankfully. She looked down.  
  
It was a large room with several computers arranged in a circle. No one was there and there were wires strung throughout the room and across the ceiling. She was pretty sure that they were connected to the main computer.  
  
Pretty sure because she had never gotten this far before.  
  
Jesika opened up the grate and, after she was sure that there was no way that she could get tangled in the various wires, she jumped down, ran over to the nearest computer, and started typing in all the Venomian passwords she knew. Pretty soon, the main page opened up.  
  
Three choices were available for the page to go to next:  
  
Top Secret  
  
Battle Plans  
  
Log  
  
Jesika tried to get into the top secret file, the thing she was sent there for. No luck--it required another password. She then tried the battle plans. Nothing much there, just some self-explanatory stuff that Starfox already knew.  
  
Then she tried the one that said "Log". A plain black and white screen popped up with a single entry:  
  
Dear Log:  
  
The time of victory is fast approaching. We have infiltrated every base from here to Corneria and there seems there is no one that has stopped us yet. Of course, McCloud and his team are being a bit of a problem, but soon they will no longer matter.  
  
Project Override is nearing completion. Soon, I will unleash it on the Lylat System and everyone will be under my control. They'll never know what hit them. As soon as it starts...  
  
All of a sudden, an alarm started blaring in the distance. 'Damn,' Jesika thought. 'Must've had an alarm on the file.'   
  
She searched through her pocket, looking for the disk she brought to download the file to. It wasn't there. She growled in anger as she realized that she had left it in her clothes.  
  
The vixen dashed towards the nearest door and burst through it. Venomians were dashing back and forth, most likely looking for her. However, with her Venomian uniform on, she blended in perfectly with them. Most were a bit bigger than her, so she was shoved and pushed until she fell through a doorway.  
  
It was a huge warehouse. Boxes were stacked all the way up to the ceiling. It looked like a hangar, but there seemed no end to it. It seemed so dark and empty.   
  
Jesika started running, running as fast as she could down the corridor, thankful that her sneakers weren't making too much noise. She breathed deeply to conserve her energy.   
  
Through all of her life, Jesika had been taught to never underestimate her enemies, to never figure things were going to be easy. She usually kept this advice. With this important information, though, she decided to make an exception.  
  
Bad timing for an exception.  
  
The girl let out a strangled gulp as she was grabbed by her shirt collar and thrown onto her back, skidding a considerable distance. With a quick kick of her feet, she got back up and faced her attacker.  
  
His back was turned to her, but his identity was unmistakable. The wolf slowly turned around and his green eyes locked with her brown eyes.  
  
"Terrance!" Jesika growled lowly, almost in shock.  
  
"Why hello, little Jesika," he chuckled. "I must say, I'm surprised. Whatever would Daddy think of his little girl in a Venomian uniform?"  
  
Jesika narrowed her eyes. "How should I know? My father abandoned me after I was born, remember?"  
  
Terrance laughed again. "Yes, yes, of course."  
  
"And what about you? Your father is a general for Corneria. Why in Lylat would you ever join Venom?"  
  
"Oh please! I don't work for that sorry excuse for an ape. But for now, Venom pays better."  
  
Jesika nodded, "Same here." They laughed uneasily and Jesika started to walk off.  
  
"You know what, Kid? You aren't as stupid as you look," Terrance called after her. She simply chuckled and continued walking.  
  
"And you know what else?" He said.  
  
"What?" She asked, turning around slowly.  
  
"Neither am I."  
  
Jesika's eyes widened in horror as he aimed his gun at her head and slowly pulled the trigger.  
  
To Be Continued...  
  
* * * * * * * * *  
  
  
  
Author's Notes: I know I said I'd get this done earlier. Gomen nasai. :(  
  
I'm going to be working on the next part of this, a request, and a Sonic the Hedgehog story over the summer.  
  
As always, comments, flames, death threats, and praise are welcome. Especially the death threats. I've never had any of those before.  
  
By the way, don't you hate "To Be Continued..."? *laughs evilly*  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	2. Part 2

Author's Notes: Finally, I'm free from that torture known as freshman year. Free from all of the ignorant jerks and self-righteous idiots. Free to write and do whatever I feel I need to do without any interruption from so-called "school work".  
  
Disclaimer: Starfox, Starwolf, Andross, and all related characters, locations, and indices are copyright to Nintendo. No copyright infringement intended.  
  
However, Jesika Starwatcher, Terrance Darkspirit, and any other characters you don't recognize are copyright to me. Don't use them without my permission.   
  
Now, without further ado, please enjoy the story.  
  
  
  
A Sign of Courage: Part 2  
  
"I always prayed that I'd be something someday. Guess I should've been more specific."  
--Unknown  
  
  
  
"Dammit!" Wolf O'Donnell cursed as he fell out of bed. He had barely made it to his small barracks when he all but passed out from the alcohol he drank. He was still drowsy from it, his head and stomach hurt, and he was in an overall bad mood.   
  
The commander looked over at his alarm clock. It was 6:30, meaning that breakfast had already started. Wolf lazily got on his uniform and boots, praying that Pigma hadn't eaten all the decent food there was.  
  
Within a few minutes, the leader stumbled into the cafeteria in an uncharacteristic sloppy appearance. He grabbed a hot mug of black coffee and some donuts.   
  
Leon and Pigma were sitting on the other side of the room. Pigma was, of course, wolfing down three plates of waffles and pancakes at an alarming rate. Leon was looking on in a mixture of horror and disgust. Wolf almost smiled at the irony. Andross's head being grossed out by his teammate's eating habits.  
  
He sat down next to the chameleon and the pig and started to eat in silence. That is, until the intercom came on.  
  
"All members of Star Wolf are to report to Emperor Andross immediately!"  
  
The three teammates looked at each other. "Must be about the mission yesterday," Leon muttered in disdain, throwing away the last of his eggs.  
  
Wolf groaned in dread as he remembered the battle yesterday. He had forgotten completely about it.  
  
This was going to be a long day.  
  
  
  
* * * * * * * * * * *   
  
  
  
Andross smiled at the young girl that was sitting before him. She was bound to a chair and unconscious, but alive, just as he ordered. Her face was somewhat burnt and her clothes had a few small tears where she was dragged, but she was in good condition.  
  
Her captor also stood before him, arms crossed with a smug smile spread across his muzzle. He looked expectantly at the bag of credits that Andross had lying on his desk.  
  
The ape addressed the wolf with an official air. "Well done, Mr. Darkspirit. I commend you for your efforts and bravery in capturing the renegade spy." With that, Andross sat down in his chair and started writing something.  
  
Terrance frowned. "Aren't you going to pay me?"  
  
"Pay you?" the ape asked incredulously.  
  
"Yeah, you moron! Pay me! You said I'd be rewarded for bringing you the kid."  
  
Andross felt his face become red at the young wolf's insult, but he quickly smiled to cover it up. "So you want to be rewarded for your services? Very well."  
  
As if on cue, two burly guards came in and grabbed both of his arms-holding him tightly in between them.  
  
"You're going to be the first one in my grand new army. It is quite an honor, young one. You will help conquer and rule entire galaxies within a few hours."  
  
"I don't wanna be in any of your stupid armies!"  
  
"You don't have a choice," Andross answered back as the guards dragged the struggling boy away.  
  
  
  
* * * * * * * * *  
  
  
  
Peppy Hare walked into the communications room of the Great Fox, thoroughly exhausted. He hadn't slept a wink last night, worrying about Jesika the whole time and wondering why she hadn't called with any information.  
  
Fox had said that she had told him she would go back to Fortuna, so he sat down and dialed up her number. Five, six, and seven rings, no answer. He frowned in worry and hung up just as Fox walked in.  
  
"Mornin' Pep," the young vulpine yawned.  
  
"Good morning, Fox," the hare replied half-heartedly. Fox frowned at his long-time friend.  
  
"What's the matter? Has Jesika still not called back?"  
  
"No, she hasn't," the hare said soberly.  
  
The young leader put a reassuring hand on his shoulder, "Hey, I'm sure she's just fine, Peppy. She knows how to take care of herself. She's probably still asleep."  
  
"I hope you're right..."  
  
  
  
* * * * * * * * *  
  
  
  
Jesika stirred slightly in her pained sleep. Questions swarmed through her head as she tried to regain consciousness. Where was she? What happened? Why was she still alive?  
  
The young vixen tried to move, only to find that her paws were bound tightly behind her. A wave of paranoia hit her and she opened her eyes suddenly, cursing the bright lights that blinded her.  
  
She blinked slowly to clear her vision. It was now obvious that she was in an office, tied to a chair and sitting in front of a desk. The vixen pulled and struggled against the ropes tied around her paws until she heard a voice coming from the chair that was turned away from her.  
  
"It seems that our sleeping beauty has awakened..."  
  
She jumped at the voice and said shakily, "Wh-who're you?"  
  
To answer, the chair turned around, revealing none other than Andross. He smiled warmly at the terrified vixen and stood up, walking towards her.  
  
Jesika pressed her ears back against her head instinctively as the emperor grabbed her chin and turned her face from side to side, examining her.  
  
The vixen cringed as he intentionally irritated the burnt side of her face. She jerked her face away and growled lowly, dark eyes narrowing. He laughed.  
  
"My, my. A tough little vixen, aren't we?" Andross said, standing back up and circling her. "We'll just have to give you a little attitude adjustment."  
  
Jesika opened her mouth to reply, but an intercom came on unexpectedly, silencing her. "Emperor Andross," a female voice said, "The Star Wolf team is on their way."  
  
  
  
* * * * * * * * *   
  
  
  
Wolf stormed down the hall angrily with Pigma and Leon following him in silence. How could my day get any worse? He thought soberly. Out loud he said, "Where's Andrew?"  
  
"Hmm... I don't know," Leon replied. "Maybe he's already with Andross..."  
  
"I doubt it," Pigma interrupted. "He's probably hiding somewhere."  
  
Wolf stopped, "And why would you think that?"  
  
"Oh well... heh... because he kinda said that he was going to tell Andross about what happened last night..."  
  
"What?" Wolf asked suddenly.  
  
"Y'know, about the bar..."  
  
Wolf stood there with his back to his team in silence. After what seemed like an eternity, he spun around and grabbed the pig by his shirt collar.  
  
"Has it never occurred to you that some information might be useful to me?"  
  
  
  
* * * * * * * * *   
  
  
Jesika looked at Andrew, who was in turn staring back at her. Her immaturity got the best of her and she stuck her tongue out at him. He stuck his tongue out at her. She made a stupid face like a monkey. Taking offense to this, he pulled out several strands of her hair and turned around, "Uncle Andross, who's this girl?"  
  
"She's a spy we caught snooping around," Andross answered, his back turned to them.  
  
"Oh really?" the younger ape asked, turning around and patting her on the head. "Can we keep her? She's cute."   
  
Jesika, who was still smiling stupidly, replied, "Can't say the same for you."  
  
Andrew started to reply when Andross interrupted him, "Private Carter, take the prisoner over to that corner. And keep her quiet."  
  
The young husky guard, who couldn't be older than Fox, grabbed onto the back of Jesika's chair and started dragging her over to the corner by the door. The young vixen cringed at the sharp squeaking noise it made, but she didn't say anything.  
  
Once he got her over there, he bent down and whispered, "Don't make any noise or I'll have to gag you, okay?" His voice had a hint of pity in it, but it soon disappeared and he stood, leaning against the wall.  
  
Just then, Wolf, Pigma, and Leon came in the door. Jesika's brown eyes widened at the sight of the pig, a pit forming in her stomach. She stooped down in her chair, a feeble attempt to hide from him. If they found out who she was, she would be in deep.  
  
They didn't look at her, though. Instead, the small team walked up and bowed before Andross. "You requested us, Emperor?" Wolf said reverently.  
  
"O'Donnell, I'd like to talk to you about the battle yesterday with the Star Fox team." Andross started, not an ounce of humor in his voice. "You guaranteed me victory, Wolf. What happened?"  
  
The leader cringed, looking back at his teammates for some backup. "Well, you see..."  
  
Andross listened to the wolf's excuses for several minutes before he interrupted him, "That's enough, Commander. You may leave. I'll decide what to do with you later."  
  
They nodded and turned around to leave. They walked with their heads down, but Pigma glanced up momentarily and stopped, staring at Jesika.  
  
The young vixen continued to look down at the floor as the pig walked over, grabbed her chin, and tilted her head up. He smiled evilly at her. "Well, well. What have we here?"  
  
Jesika jumped in fear, but soon put on some bravado and growled lowly, saying only one word under anyone's earshot but Pigma's. "Traitor!"  
  
The traitor continued to smile at the teenager, "Nice to see you too, Squirt." He then turned around and smiled at Andross. "Emperor, I think I have something that will stop Star Fox in their tracks..."  
  
  
  
* * * * * * * * *   
  
  
  
Wolf couldn't believe his luck. All this time trying to stop that damned McCloud and his group of idiots, he suddenly had an easy way to do it. Simply tell Fox and Peppy that Venom was holding their precious little vixen and they'd do his every whim.  
  
Of course, to make it extra effective, they had to show Star Fox how she would be treated if they refused. So the first stop was to Leon's "work area."  
  
He looked back at Jesika, who was being tugged along between two large guards. The girl was trying to act brave, but it wasn't working very well. She simply walked with her head and tail drooping, ears pressed to her head.  
  
He then looked over to Leon, who was matching him stride for stride, smiling darkly. It had always sort of terrified Wolf out at the way Leon acted before he went to work, but he never said anything about it.  
  
Pigma and Andrew weren't there. Pigma because he was being both questioned and punished by Andross for not telling him about her sooner. Andrew didn't come because he was too much of a coward to come. Not that Wolf could really blame him. He himself usually stayed as far away as possible.  
  
"We're here!" Leon said pleasantly, breaking the silence. The lizard slid a card through the lock and it opened obediently with a hiss.  
  
It was a damp, dank room with numerous shackles and manacles lining the walls. There were also numerous devices scattered around. Some were recognizable, some were things it was almost impossible to determine their use. All were designed for one purpose-to inflict pain.  
  
Wolf heard a whimper behind him. He turned to see the young prisoner lose the last bit of bravado she had and started struggling desperately. She no longer looked like a prisoner of war nor a mercenary spy. She looked like the terrified teenage girl that she was.  
  
"No! Please! I-I don't know nothin'!" she said in fear, eyes wide.  
  
"Too bad for you," Leon said cruelly, approaching her.  
  
  
  
* * * * * * * * *   
  
  
  
Terrance Darkspirit sat in his cell sullenly. He couldn't believe it. That stupid monkey had thrown him in jail after he had brought him the brat.   
  
I'll get him back for that one! he thought.  
  
A noise came from down the hall as two guards came down and stood in front of the cell door and opened it, dragging him out.  
  
  
  
* * * * * * * * *  
  
  
  
Jesika looked down at her feet as she sat in her cell. The world had just painfully returned to her a few minutes ago after nearly five hours of "preparation." She was almost glad there wasn't a mirror in there. She knew that she didn't want to see what she looked like right now.  
  
She no longer had the Venomian uniform that she had stolen. It had been replaced with a too large tattered gray POW jacket and pants that had dried blood on it.  
  
She reached under the jacket collar and felt the small necklace she always wore. The one her "father" had given to her on her fifteenth birthday. It was a symbol of protection.  
  
Some good it's done...  
  
She looked up and down the hall. All of the cells looked like hers. Cold, dark, and damp with green electric bars. They were all empty except hers.  
  
The young vixen looked up. There was a ventilation shaft on the ceiling. Only problem was that there wasn't a way in.  
  
She sighed and pulled off the bandanna she was wearing, a bit surprised to find it, and gently wrapped an open cut on her left arm that was bleeding freely.  
  
Suddenly, the silence was broken as a door at the end of the hall opened to reveal Wolf and Pigma. Jesika jumped back and flattened her ears against her head, growling as they came to her cell and stopped, smiling at her.  
  
"Wow! I love what Leon did with her!" Pigma exclaimed, delighted.  
  
"Shut up, Stupid," Jesika growled back at him, only making him laugh harder.  
  
Wolf pulled out a card and slid it through the slot, deactivating the bars and walking in.  
  
The arctic fox, seeing a small opportunity, tried to jump to her feet but immediately fell back to the ground in pain, clutching her right ankle. She looked up to find Wolf smiling down at her.  
  
"We had to, well, do a little operation on your tendon. Let's just say you will want to stay off it if you ever want to walk again," he said casually, grabbing her arm and jerking her forward. "C'mon. It's time to make a little call."  
  
  
  
* * * * * * * * *  
  
  
  
Fox McCloud was sitting down at a table, studying some documents that were lying before him. Simple stuff like battle plans that had been stolen from Venom, a schedule for attacks, and anything else that could possibly be useful. They were going to Katina today, having heard that there was going to be an attack on the base today.  
  
The young leader was quite excited about going. It was most likely going to be quite easy and he would get to see Bill, his best friend. They hadn't seen each other since graduation.  
  
Fox looked up to see Peppy walk in and sit down across from him. The hare hadn't been able to calm down the whole day. His worry was beginning to become contagious, as Fox shifted nervously in his seat.   
  
"Any word from her?" the leader asked.  
  
"Not yet," came the sullen reply.  
  
McCloud nodded slowly.   
  
The silence was broken by ROB's voice coming over the intercom. "Fox, Peppy, there's a call coming in for you."  
  
They looked up simultaneously. "From who?" Peppy asked.  
  
ROB replied, "The sensors indicate it's from Venom."  
  
The two teammates looked at each other in shock, neither wanting to voice their fears about just what the call was about. Fox jumped up and ran over to a vid-phone with Peppy after him, activating it.  
  
Wolf O'Donnell appeared on screen, holding a bound and gagged Jesika in front of him. The vixen was obviously scared and in excruciating pain, with burns, cuts, and lacerations all over her face and body. Her eyes widened at the sight of her adoptive father and her friend. She tried to say something, but it was muffled.  
  
In front of him was Andross, talking into the screen.  
  
"Missing someone?" Andross asked, laughing much to the two's anger.  
  
"You son of a..." Fox began.  
  
The captor silenced Fox with a jerk against Jesika's neck, choking her temporarily. "Now, now. Try to control your temper, McCloud. You're in no position to be making insults.  
  
"Listen up. Here's how this is going to work. For every pilot of ours you shoot down, the more the girl will be tortured. If you kill one of Venom's lieutenants, she won't get to eat. And if you dare fly into Venom airspace, she will die a death more painful than you can imagine.  
  
"Now, I'm not heartless. If you do as I say, her condition will improve. She will be moved to a comfortable cell and get to eat something besides bread and water. But until this happens, things won't change."  
  
Peppy got a bit closer to the screen. "Let me talk to her, Andross. Please!"  
  
The ape chuckled and nodded towards Wolf, who took the gag out of her mouth.  
  
"Dad, I-I'm sorry," Jesika managed to whisper just as Wolf clamped his paw over her mouth again.  
  
"That's enough," he whispered into her ear.  
  
"Do we have a deal?" Andross asked.  
  
Fox looked over at Peppy, who nodded, his face creased with worry.  
  
"Good!" the emperor said. "And remember the conditions, McCloud. Goodbye."  
  
The transmission ended.  
  
  
  
* * * * * * * * * *   
  
  
  
Jesika continued looking at the screen long after the transmission ended. What had she done? What had she gotten herself into?   
  
She felt Wolf jerk her over to the side, holding her in front of Andross. He let her go, allowing her to fall to the ground in front of the emperor.   
  
The ape smiled and grabbed her chin. "Now then, let's see just how good of a job Leon did on you."  
  
He tilted her head from side to side, and then stopped suddenly, staring at her. He pulled on her chin until she stood up on one leg.  
  
"What the..." he mumbled.  
  
"Sir? Is something wrong?" Wolf asked, grabbing onto Jesika to balance her.  
  
Andross shook his head and slowly smiled. "Leave her here, Wolf. I'd like to speak with our young guest in private."  
  
  
  
* * * * * * * * * *   
  
  
  
Peppy dodged in and out of the enemy fighters, not wanting to fire on any of them. He bit his lip. Unless they did something to take them down, there was no way that the Husky and Bulldog Squadron could take care of it for themselves.  
  
He looked over at Slippy and Falco. They carried on and shot down the enemy fighters as if nothing was wrong. Although sympathetic, they both had said that losing one life was better then losing thousands. Of course, they were right. The hare still couldn't bring himself to put Jesika through any more pain.  
  
Fox wasn't faring much better. He only shot down bogeys if they were putting an ally in immediate danger. This made him so nervous that he had shot down many Cornerians already, fortunately not killing any.  
  
"Peppy!" a voice came through his com, startling him. "It's Bill. Are you alright?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm okay," he lied.  
  
"Well shoot someone down. We need all the help we can get right now."  
  
  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
  
  
Jesika was leaning against a wall, chained up to it to keep her still. Andross was smiling at her, pacing back and forth in front of her. He seemed to keep looking at her birthmark as if it was something sacred, which made the vixen only feel more uncomfortable.  
  
"What do you want?" she asked finally, the silence getting to her.  
  
He stopped pacing and walked up to her, bending over and then looking into her eyes, studying them. He broke into a chuckle. "Aww... little Jesika. You have no idea how powerful you are, do you?"  
  
Surprised by this, she replied, "Powerful?"  
  
Standing back up, the ape nodded, "Yes, powerful. You have the Sign of Courage on your forehead. It symbolizes all the power you possess as one of the Senshi."  
  
She blinked, "What?"  
  
The emperor sighed, "You're not too bright, are you?"  
  
Jesika smiled and shook her head.  
  
"Fine then. Around fifteen, sixteen years ago, I was told that a child was born at a base on Fortuna. She was said to be one of the Bushido Senshi because she had a star on her forehead." He paused for a second to let it sink in.  
  
"Now this child could be quite dangerous to me if she fulfilled this little legendary prophecy. So I sent my pilots to kill her and make it look like a random test." He paused again to look at the girl's horrible recognition of the tale.  
  
"Most people, the lucky ones, were killed on the impact of the bombs. I had figured you were as well because that's what your parents told me.  
  
"Yes, your parents were one of the unfortunate few that lived. They didn't for long, however. Your mother died of pneumonia a few days after she got here. Her death was painless enough, I suppose.  
  
"Your father, however, lived for months after his capture working in the mines on Macbeth. He died from the exposure to radiation. A quite retched way to die; covered with chemical burns. Wouldn't you say?"   
  
He grabbed her left ear, rubbing along the side of it and feeling the barely visible scar she had gotten as a child in the attack. "You see, girl, all of those people died because of you. Your parents, the children that would've been your playmates, they're all gone. And it's all because of you..."  
  
  
  
* * * * * * * * *   
  
  
  
"The core is exposed. Stand by for attack," Bill announced as Fox flew toward the core, aiming a bomb carefully. Thoughts swarmed through his head, waging war against each other. If he shot, he'd be pretty much torturing his friend himself. If he didn't, then it would destroy the base and all the people in it would die.  
  
Shoot, it's not worth it.  
  
Don't shoot; you couldn't live with yourself.  
  
Shoot.  
  
Don't shoot...  
  
Suddenly, two arwings swerved in front of him. It was Slippy and Falco. They started shooting wildly at the core, knowing that their leader couldn't do it. It worked. The core buckled in and the ship started falling towards the ground, just away from the base.  
  
Their actions weren't without consequences, though. Slippy's ship was too badly damaged to make it out from under the ship in time. The edge of it clipped his wing, sending him spiraling down to the ground below.  
  
"Slippy!" Fox yelled.  
  
  
  
* * * * * * * *   
  
  
  
Author's Notes: I've decided to split this part into two parts. I'm going on vacation tomorrow so I won't be able to work on it, so that's why. So this is another "To Be Continued." Sorry. :-(   



	3. Star of Redemption: A Sign of Courage -...

Author's Notes: School will almost definitely be started by the time you're reading this. Thus, don't expect anything else from me anytime soon. At least, don't expect any big projects. I'm trying to get into a math and science school, so that means I have to study hard.

This chapter, like the last one, is rated PG-13 for graphic violence and language. Kiddies under thirteen shouldn't read it, as this suggests.

Also, a little bit of warning: this story deals with rape. Although it doesn't show anything, you have been warned.

Okay, here's the part that just about everyone skips over:

Disclaimer: Star Fox, Star Wolf, Andross, and all related characters and indices are copyright to Nintendo. Used without permission. No copyright infringement intended.

Jesika Starwatcher and all the other fan-made characters are copyright to me. Don't use them without asking me first.

Okay, now that that's over with, on with the show:

**A Sign of Courage: Part 3**

"If your loved ones are in a crisis, you can't desert them . . ."

-Medena, "Xenogears"

_"If you get into trouble, Starwatcher, don't even think of asking us for help. We have more important things to worry about . . ."_

Those same words had echoed through Fox McCloud's mind over and over again. He was horrified that he could even say such a thing.

It was a phrase said out of anger and exhaustion to a stubborn teenage girl.

The only problem was that it had come true. Jesika was in trouble and they weren't able to help her. If they did as Andross said it would put the whole Lylat System in danger. One life was not as important as billions, right?

_'Just keep telling yourself that, Fox,'_ the young leader thought sullenly.

The opening of a door brought the vulpine out of his thoughts. He looked up to see Falco Lombardi come in and sit down.

"Slip's gonna be okay. He'll be out of the rejuvenation tank in a few days."

Fox nodded dumbly, biting his lip. "I'm sorry, Falco," he said. 

"It should've been me that took that shot, not you and Slippy. I-I put you two in more danger than you needed to be in."

The avian nodded and rubbed his beak. "Hey, it's been a rough day for all of us, especially you and Pep. Your heart's in the right place, Fox, but we have to keep going. I know that you don't want that kid to get hurt, but we're not helping her by losing intentionally."

"We either need to plan a rescue mission or hope that she can get herself out. We can't keep doing this. Corneria will lose if . . ."

"I know that, Falco!" Fox snapped and gave the bird a scathing look before apologizing. "It's just that . . . dammit, I told her not to go! How could she do this to us?"

* * * * * * * * * * 

Leon smiled down at the young arctic fox he had chained to the wall. He must admit that she was one of the best prisoners he had ever gotten to torture. She was terrified of him, so she didn't say much, but her screams were quite satisfying.

"Now then, young Starwatcher, are you ready for another session?" he asked. The vixen closed her eyes tightly and shook her head, letting her mangled hair fly about.

"N-no! Please! I'll do anything you want!" she sobbed. "Just don't do this to me!"

Leon pulled out a knife and pressed it to her cheek, drawing a bit of blood. "Sorry, but no-can-do. The Star Fox team didn't comply with our orders, so they're going to have to pay the price. Unfortunately for you, you're the one the punishment is going to be given to." 

He slowly pulled the knife across her face, scarring her and laughing at the vixen's cry of pain. The lizard took the knife away slowly, letting the blood drip from it before wiping it off on her clothes.

"Now then, that wasn't too bad, was it?" He laughed and turned away. "You may rest for a bit. This old thing is boring me. I need to get something else."

The lizard walked across the room and started rummaging through a cardboard box. He heard sounds of struggling behind him. He paid no attention to it. She would learn not to do that soon enough.

"Mister, please! You don't have to do this! I can't tell you anything useful!" came the weak voice, pleading.

He chuckled, and mumbled, "I know", and then blocked out any further pleads. He finally found what he was looking for, activated it, and held it near his face, marveling at the sound it made. He laughed cruelly.

What music could possibly be more beautiful than that of a buzz saw? 

* * * * * * * * * *

"Jesika . . . wake up," a voice came to the teenager in her fitful sleep, "it's time to go."

She slowly opened her eyes to see Peppy smiling at her. The girl sat bolt upright in bed, looking around. She was in her old room on the Greatfox. Jesika laughed in complete joy, jumping into her caregiver's arms and crying.

Peppy smiled in surprise and returned the hug. "I love you too, kiddo."

Suddenly, his attention was diverted to something happening just over the vixen's shoulder. The adult frowned and held her closer.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

Her answer came in the form of a takedown. Before the teenager could react, she was tripped and knocked to the ground. The reason for it came a second later as she heard a cry of pain.

Jesika turned around quickly to see her father lying on the ground, unmoving. She scrambled toward him not paying any attention to the blood that was getting on her clothes and paws. She shook him desperately, willing him to wake up. It was useless; he was gone.

The young vixen heard the sound of another shot being charged up. She looked up, locking eyes with a familiar face just as the trigger was pulled again . . .

Jesika opened her eyes with a weak cry of anguish. Her eyes darted around as she realized she was still in a cell, although an even worse one. She calmed down slowly and tried to sit up, but the pain was unbearable.

She stifled a whimper and rolled onto her belly, looking around the cell. This one lacked even a simple bed. It was completely bare, wet, and crawling with who-knows-what. 

On the floor was a puddle of polluted water. She dragged herself over to it and looked down at it. In it she could see her reflection, an image that bore almost no resemblance of her former self. 

The color of her fur was almost indefinable, having been burned with a shock phaser over and over. She was missing quite a bit of her fur. There were several openly bleeding cuts all over her face. Some places there was barely any skin at all. They were simply holes in her face, bleeding lightly. She put a paw over her mouth to keep herself from vomiting.

She could feel herself getting sicker and sicker by the minute. She tried to convince herself that it was because of the torture but she knew it wasn't true. 

That dream was another one of her visions of the future. She had done nothing to prevent the other two tragedies from happening, but now she had no choice. There was no way of warning Peppy about what was going to happen.

Jesika wiped a tear from her injured cheek and covered her face, crying until she finally lost consciousness.

* * * * * * * * * *

Wolf O'Donnell wrapped his hands around the bar and lifted the two hundred pounds with some difficulty. There was nothing else to do and he was extremely bored. Boredom, of course, created too much time to think; too much time to think of ways to cause problems.

He looked up at Leon, who was spotting for him. "Tell me, Leon. What's the girl like? Is she very strong?"

"Like any other prisoner. Quite cooperative, though," he raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

The leader chuckled evilly in response. Leon smiled in a similar manner, but his voice held a mocking disapproving tone.

"Wolf, really! She can't be more than fifteen, less than half your age!" the lizard laughed. "Besides, it will make the emperor angry."

"I know," the canine said, sitting up and flexing his muscles. "It will hurt McCloud as well. That's what really matters, now isn't it?

"Besides, she's cute enough . . . "

* * * * * * * * * *

Jesika sat in her cell, her knees pulled up to her chest and her face buried in her arms. She had neither the willpower nor the strength to move around much, so she remained in that same position well into the night.

She was alerted by some noise at the end of the hall. She looked out of the electric bars, her eyes conveying emotions that should never be felt by someone so young.

Slowly, a figure made it's way down the hallway. She frowned, not being able to make out who it was.

The shadow stood a little less than six feet tall, too tall to be Leon. This was a welcome development, but something about it made the vixen feel uneasy.

She tensed when she saw the electric bars deactivate and the figure stepped in. She quickly closed her eyes and laid her head back on her knees, pretending to be asleep.

Suddenly, two furry paws grabbed her shoulders hard. In seconds, the adult's intentions became perfectly clear as he pinned her to the wall, grinning at her. She brought her arm up, slashing her claws against her attacker's face and drawing blood.

His head snapped to the side and he turned it back around slowly, bringing a paw up to his face to feel the blood. The smile disappeared from his face and he grabbed the offending arm tightly, twisting hard until he heard a snap.

Jesika screamed in pain before being silenced by a paw clamping over her muzzle. "Cornerian scum!" he growled at her, a mocking cruelty filling every word. Slowly, he released his hold on her mouth. "Look at how weak you are. Do you really believe that damned McCloud is going to save you now?"

Jesika breathed through gritted teeth for several seconds before she spoke, trying to hide the doubt in her voice. "You, beat Fox? Ha! You couldn't beat him! He's stronger than you'll ever be. You won't win!"

Outraged, the male slammed her against the wall. Her vision swam and she slowly lost consciousness as she felt herself being dragged across the cell.

* * * * * * * *

Wolf O'Donnell walked into the rec room the next morning with a large grin on his muzzle. Leon was the only one in there and looked up at his leader.

"Have fun?" the chameleon laughed evilly.

The wolf laughed in reply. "It wasn't bad. I had to knock her out, though. The little witch scratched me and I needed to keep her from screaming. But I did get a little token from her that I'm sure young McCloud would be interested in."

He dug his hand into his pocket and pulled out an orange pendant. Leon came over, examining it.

"I never saw it before."

"She keeps under her clothes," Wolf winked and started walking off. "I need to take a shower. I feel dirty after touching that Cornerian filth."

* * * * * * * * 

Jasmine pushed the food cart down the hallway. Being a bartender on Venom just didn't pay enough, so she had to resort to feeding prisoners for a few extra credits. It wasn't particularly unpleasant work most of the time, but she often had to clean up messes that weren't hers.

Today was one of those days.

She stopped in front of one of the cells and glanced in. There, lying on the floor with her clothes torn was a young prisoner. The wolf shook her head. Sure, they were opposed to the Emperor and deserved to be punished, but didn't they deserve better than that?

Jasmine slid a card through the door, deactivating the bars and walking up to the prisoner. She knelt down and looked over the girl. She was obviously some sort of vixen, and from the white tint of her fur she was probably a Fortuna native. She was young, most likely a mercenary seeing as she looked under the draft age.

She sighed and stood back up, walking over to get something from her cart. Jasmine was by no means a doctor, but she knew it would probably be less of a shock to her if she woke up with at least someone there to talk to. So, she decided to speed her up a bit by pouring a glass of water on her face. (Again, she was not a doctor.)

The teenager snapped awake immediately. Her eyes wild, she started scrambling back until she hit her head against the wall. She sat there, panting and waiting for her vision to clear.

"It's okay, hon. I'm not gonna hurt ya," Jasmine whispered, her voice gentle but her paw going to the sidearm she was required to carry. She smiled as the vixen looked at her and nodded an acknowledgement slowly.

"J-Jasmine?" the girl whispered questioningly. The wolf blinked. Wait a minute. She remembered her. It was that girl that came into her bar several days ago. She was the kid who had almost gotten into a fight with Chance.

"How in Lylat did you end up here?"

"I-I-I'm a spy," the girl muttered. "My name's Starwatcher, Jesika Starwatcher." 

Jasmine started to say something, but it was obvious that the girl wasn't going to listen. Her eyes were closed, teeth clenched, trying to remember what had happened. Then, after several moments, her eyes snapped open and she heard a weak whimper. It was another scene Jasmine had seen too many times.

"Now, now. Don't you cry. It's gonna be alright," she comforted, handing her some water from her tray. Jesika took it from her, eyes narrowing and tears flowing down her cheeks silently. She drank it greedily while her eyes staring at Jasmine.

The wolf sat down on the floor across from her, eyes displaying a hint of pity. She watched as the vixen finished off the last of the water and put the glass down in front of herself. Several more minutes went by before she spoke, her voice harsh and course. "How come you helped me? You're a Venomian."

Jasmine sighed softly, "You're going to find that not all of us are bad, pup. Life ain't black an'white."

* * * * * * *

Andross sat at his computer in his throne room, typing furiously. The ape's eyes narrowed as he tried to work out the bugs on the intricate program he has been developing for decades. It wouldn't be long now before his plan came to fruition. 

_Project Override_ was incredibly intricate, yet seemed so simplistic. By just re-routing a few nerve tracts in a subject's cerebrum, it could control him or her with very little sign that there was anything amiss. The slave would act and look normal, with only a slight red tint to the irises to signal that anything was crooked. In time, even that would disappear.

"Aw . . . finished," the emperor said, leaning back. Now all he had to do was to find a suitable test subject. The young spy Jesika wouldn't be a wise choice. If something went wrong and it killed her, they would lose their hostage.

Young Darkspirit was an applicable choice, but he too, would be too valuable to lose. His father was high up on the Cornerian military, so it would be best to work out any bugs before trying it out on him. That narrowed any good choices of his down to, well, zero.

"No matter. I'll just have to get someone else," he muttered.

* * * * * * * * *

Jesika and Jasmine sat together for well over an hour. They weren't really talking all that much, but Jesika was terrified of being left alone again. As strange as it was, she felt a lot safer with Jasmine there, even if she was a Venomian. She made Jesika feel a little bit better, almost as if she was home.

All of a sudden, a sound came from the end of the hall: the sound of an opening door. Jesika's ears pricked up and she felt the fur on her back stand up. Jasmine took note of this and stood up.

"Sorry kid, but I gotta go. I wasn't supposed ta open up the door."

Jesika didn't hear her. The only thing she could hear was the footsteps coming toward her cell, slowly, inching towards her. She reached up and grabbed Jasmine's hand, clenching it tightly. "No, no! Don't leave me! Please!" she begged.

Jasmine looked back at her, gnawing her bottom lip. Helping the girl would get her executed. But she couldn't bring herself to just leave her there to get tortured or killed. She had to do something.

"Okay, come here. Hurry!" she whispered softly and motioned toward the far end of the cell. After helping the young vixen over into a corner hidden from view from the door, she motioned her finger to her lips to tell the girl to be quiet.

Without any further hesitation, Jasmine rushed out into hall, yelling, "Lieutenant Polowski! The prisoner has escaped."

The color drained from the chameleon's face before turning beet red, "What do you mean… she's escaped!"

"I-I came here and the door was already open! I don't know how!"

Leon glanced around the wolf's shoulder and cursed when he saw that the laser bars really had been deactivated. "Dammit! How long have you been here?"

"A few minutes. Ah… I was checking over an' over ta see if she was still there, but she's not."

Leon wasn't listening. He was thinking intently, _'How the hell did she get out? The only one who's been in her cell is me, this wolf, and . . .'_

* * * * * * * * *

Wolf O'Donnell sat in the mess hall, eating some spaghetti. For once, he had gotten there before Pigma, so most of the menu was still intact. He began to prop his head up on his paw when his face started stinging. Reminiscing the scratch Jesika gave him, he frowned in disgust and soughed.

_At least the little witch got what was coming to her._

Smiling, he reached for his drink as he felt someone touch his shoulder firmly. He turned around to see Leon looking down at him. "Back so soon?" Wolf asked.

"We . . . we need to talk. Come here," the lizard beckoned. Wolf started to complain, but the expression on Leon's face showed that something serious had happened.

Wolf got up and walked out into the hall, followed closely by his wingman. As soon as they were alone, Leon grasped the wolf's shoulders and exclaimed, "You left the cell door open!"

"What? No I didn't!"

"Well, whatever happened, the girl escaped! Now what are we going to do?"

"W-we can't tell the emperor!" Wolf growled.

"Fine! We'll just have to find her ourselves."

"Y-yeah . . . " Wolf mumbled uneasy. "Go get Pigma and An- . . . no, wait. We don't need Andrew to know about this. Just fetch Pigma."

* * * * * * * * *

"Easy, easy," Jasmine whispered to Jesika. The young arctic fox was limping along slowly, holding onto the wolf for support. They weren't making much progress, but they had to try.

Jesika looked down at her wounded ankle. It usually did not hurt when she didn't try to walk, but the pain was excruciating now, so much so that she began to wonder if it had become infected. She prayed it had not, but the odds of it were overwhelming.

Jasmine looked down at her young friend worriedly. She knew that as soon as she got her past the locked doors, she would have to leave her to fend for herself because, although she cared deeply for the spy for some reason, she still had an obligation to her emperor. It seemed like a good compromise.

* * * * * * * * *

Fox paced back and forth in the hallway at the Katina Military Base. Bill was in a meeting that had already lasted an hour and a half. The young mercenary looked down at his watch and frowned in disgust. Fox never had been one of much patience.

Finally, the door opened and the dog peaked out. Bill's face lit up when he saw his childhood friend. "Fox! How have you been, man?" he asked as he gave the vulpine a hug, patting his back.

Fox returned it half-heartedly. "Not too good."

The dog frowned, "Why? Did something go wrong with Slippy?"

"No, no. Slip's gonna be fine."

"Then what?"

Fox sighed deeply and looked around to make sure no one was around. "You remember Jesika?"

Bill blinked. "Yeah. Did something happen to her?"

"She . . . she was captured by Venomians. And since Pigma knows who she is . . . "

"Damn," Bill cursed. "A hostage. That's pretty low. Have they hurt her?"

"Yeah, she's been tortured and who knows what else."

Bill nodded silently, biting his lip. "Tell you what: I'll get a rescue team together and . . . "

"No! What do you think Star Wolf will do when they see Cornerian jets in their airspace? That is the reason I never told the General. They'll kill her!"

Bill grimaced and nodded. "Yeah, you're probably right. So what do you want me to do?" 

"Okay, you know how to fly an Arwing, right? Here's what I need you to do . . . "

* * * * * * * *

After several hours, Jesika and Jasmine made it out of the highest security part of the building. Jasmine set the young girl down and looked around. "I hate ta leave ya like this, kid, but if I get caught helpin' ya . . . "

"I know," Jesika whispered. She grimaced and tried to sit comfortably against the wall, looking around for an easy escape route. On the far wall, there was a ventilation shaft climbing up to the ceiling. She crawled over to it and pulled on the rusted grating, pulling it off easily. 

She looked back at Jasmine, who was extending her arm to give her a piece of broken metal. "Here, this'll help ya walk with yoah busted ankle," the wolf smiled.

Jesika took it, and began crawling into the shaft. "Thank you! I'll pay you back for this, I promise!"

"Just worry about getting yourself outta here now."

Jesika nodded slowly and began crawling up the incline as she heard Jasmine close the grate behind her.

* * * * * * * *

Fox flew in a lazy circle around the Great Fox with Bill following him. Every once in awhile, the young mercenary would pull a loop or dive, just like he knew Wolf would do. The commander was a very fast learner and skilled with his _Husky Unit_ ship, but he still felt it necessary to teach him the ropes of controlling the much stronger Arwing.

He wasn't sure if this was the best plan he had ever come up with, but he had to go to Venom, and soon. There was word that Venom would be attacking some bases on Corneria in a few days, and he had to get Jesika out of there so he could help defend his home planet.

Since Andross would figure it out if there were only three Arwings in the sky, the only way to do this was to think that Fox was with them . . . 

* * * * * * * *

Jesika had always liked climbing through labyrinths and exploring caves as a child, but this wasn't the same. In fact, it was quite painful. While pulling herself along through the vent, she had managed to aggravate most of the injuries on her arms and legs. Furthermore, the Venomians seemed to never clean out their vents, leaving enough dust to turn her white coat of fur a dingy gray.

And this wasn't even the hardest part. That would come when she had to go out in the open.

Sighing, she shielded her eyes and pushed the crutch ahead of her. Surely this vent had to end on the outside. It just had to. She didn't want to get captured again.

After several minutes, she saw what she thought was an opening as light poured into the vent. Either that or she died of asphyxiation and was going to Heaven. Either one would be better than going back to Leon's torture chamber.

She dragged herself faster towards the light. Sure enough, it was an opening. Holding back a cry of joy, she tumbled out of it and landed on the ground face first, dropping her crutch.

She giggled and crawled over to it, reaching for it carefully. The smile disappeared from her face, however, when she felt a large boot come down on the middle of her back, pinning her in place cruelly.

"Well, well, well . . . "

* * * * * * * * * 

"You done with that thing yet, Slip?" Fox asked, climbing onto the right wing of his Arwing.

"Just about . . . there! Finished!" the young pilot reported, hopping down. "It's programmed and everything!"

"Great!" the leader said. "Then let's rock and roll!"

* * * * * * * * 

Jesika yelled in pain as she took another strike across the face. She had really gotten herself into trouble this time as Wolf, Leon, and Pigma were all doing everything they could to punish her. They weren't even asking questions, only taunting and laughing at her.

"Stupid little girl!" Wolf hissed, pulling out his dagger and pressing it to her throat, trying to intimidate her. "I should kill you for wasting my time." To emphasize this, he made a tiny cut on her neck, not enough to really hurt her but enough to terrify her. 

Jesika closed her eyes and trembled. She heard Pigma beginning to laugh. She managed to open her eyes and growl at him lowly. "Shut up, you son of a b . . . argh!" she yelled as Pigma sliced her across the face with one of Leon's knives.

Leon chuckled, "My, my, my! She doesn't seem to like you much, Pigma."

Wolf snarled and then turned back to Jesika, cupping her face with his paw. "Don't worry, my dear girl. We'll make sure you don't run away again . . . "

* * * * * * * *

Bill flew around in Fox's Arwing, easily avoiding the Invaders that were shooting at him. He had seen no sign of Star Wolf, but flying around the edge of Venom's airspace had successfully attracted dozens of Invader-class fighters. He looked over at Slippy and Falco, both of whom were fighting with relative ease against the huge swarm. 

Peppy was a different case, however. He was still a bit uneasy about shooting down any fighters with Jesika still in Venomian hands. It had taken Fox hours to convince the veteran that he would be more useful in the sky until he could find Jesika. Besides, he might not like what he finds.

"Hey Pep!" Bill yelled over his intercom, smiling as he heard his voice convert to Fox's over the com-link. "I'm sure Fox'll get her outta there. If anyone can do it, that kid can." 

* * * * * * * *

Fox wriggled on his belly through the Venomian ventilation ducts. He did not know his way around as well as his young arctic fox friend, but he was managing with the maps that Jesika had managed to make for him. If only she could draw.

Chuckling quietly to lighten his nervousness, he made his way through the vent slowly, careful not to set off any alarms or make any noises. He looked down at his map, squinting to see it in the dim light. He should be close to the P.O.W. cells by now.

Suddenly, he heard a scream that sent chills down his spine. It was Jesika. They were torturing her!

The young leader sped up his travel instinctively; traveling toward the sound at speeds he didn't know he could reach in that cramped shaft. Finally, he came to the right grating and looked through it—gritting his teeth.

There stood Wolf, Leon, and Pigma standing over Jesika. Leon was holding a torch in his hand under Jesika's feet, charring them badly as the prisoner screamed in pain and anguish, struggling against Wolf's hold. Pigma just stood there, admiring the girl's pain and suffering.

Fox growled and began unlatching the grate, preparing to pounce on Leon in hopes of knocking him away. He didn't think of what he would do about Wolf and Pigma; he was too blinded with rage.

With a primal yell, he landed on the chameleon hands first, slamming his head against the floor and knocking the torch away. The torturer yelled in outrage before blacking out.

Wolf and Pigma looked on in shock for a few moments before Pigma had the sense to reach for his blaster. The younger fox was too fast, however, and managed to shoot his paw before leveling it at his head. "I've been waiting a long time for this, traitor."

Of course Dengar, who had never been one to fight when the odds were against him, bailed out of the room against his commander's order. This left only Wolf, Jesika, and Fox altogether. In one fluid maneuver, O'Donnell unsheathed his dagger just before Fox had the chance to take aim at him and pressed it firmly against his hostage's throat. "Don't even try it, McCloud."

Fox narrowed his eyes at the older canine and then looked down at his young friend. She was shaking, barely conscious with her eyes shut and her ears flattened against her head. He bit his lip and looked back up at Wolf. "What's the matter? Are you really that afraid of me that you'd hide behind a fifteen-year-old?"

Wolf laughed. "No, it's not that. I just realized that I can . . . get more entertainment out of her. I may be evil, but I'm not like that!"

Fox narrowed his eyes and growled as the revelation of what he had just said sunk in. "You bastard!"

"Of course, I don't think she appreciates it nearly as much as she should. I guess I just need more practice . . . " Wolf explained, a cruel smile on his muzzle the whole time.

Fox could barely see straight. He gritted his teeth and took careful aim. He may be able to hit Wolf with a clean headshot, but it was too risky. He didn't really have any training with hostage negotiation, but he had the feeling it wouldn't do no good.

"What do you want?" he inquired, letting some defeat inch in with his voice.

The Venomian laughed and cleared his throat. "Well, first I want you and the rest of your miserable little team chained up in this torture chamber. Or maybe even General Pepper's head on a platter. That would be a good start."

Fox wasn't even listening. He was waiting patiently for Wolf to close his eyes, even to blink. When the commander stopped to chuckle, the young mercenary snapped his head toward the door and yelled, "Andross!" with as much venom in his voice that he could muster.

Wolf instinctively directed his head in the direction of the door, expecting to see his emperor. Before he could turn back towards Fox, the youthful vulpine had rushed him, grabbing his arm, and holding the dagger, knocking it to the floor.

Wolf growled and tried to knee the boy in the stomach, but the young vulpine was too fast for him and nailed him across the face with his blaster, knocking him senseless for a short while.

With that done, he turned his attention back to his friend and rushed to her side. "Jesika! Jesika, can you hear me?" he asked softly, scooping her up in his arms. Her only reply was a weak whimper as he unintentionally irritated her broken arm.

"It's okay, Jessie. I'll get you outta here."

* * * * * * * * * 

Peppy glanced back down at his tracking device, trying to tell where Fox was. He gave a quick sigh of relief when he saw that he was heading away from the cells. That meant he either has Jesika or . . . No, he wouldn't think of that.

Figuring it was slightly safer, the old hare started attacking the Invader jets with a vengeance, leaving nothing behind.

* * * * * * * * *

Fox placed his young friend on a cot in the captured Venomian transport he came to Venom on. She was still shaking like a leaf, but the best he could do here was cover her with a blanket and get her back to the Great Fox as fast as possible.

He climbed behind the controls and took off, shooting out of the landing bay like a rocket. He met with relatively little resistance, seeing as most of the fighters were engaged with Star Fox at the moment. As soon as they were out of Venom's atmosphere, he turned the ship on autopilot and turned around, peering at Jesika.

"Those sick monsters will pay for this," he vowed back at her. "I promise you this."

* * * * * * * * *

Andross was only slightly annoyed at the escape of his prized prisoner. He had something much more important on his mind.

"Let me outta here!" the young Cornerian delivery driver yelled as he banged on the sides of the glass tube. The coyote's eyes were crazed, he was obviously terrified.

"Hold on, Mr. Reynard. It will be over in a few seconds . . . "

The evil ape typed something into the computer and heard the prisoner scream once before becoming silent. Andross turned around and smiled as he saw the familiar red tint come into the boy's normally green irises.

"Hahaha . . . it worked! It worked!" the emperor cheered, bursting out into laughter.

The End?

* * * * * * * *

Author's Notes: Dang that took awhile, huh? Heh.

Okay, I guess I need to give credit where credit's due. Jaguar Janks (a.k.a. Darkmon) revised this for me, so be nice and go read and review his stories or I'll hit ya.


End file.
